Cadillac CTS First Generation Forum - 2003 - 2007 Discussion, Seem to be lots of car problem threads... in Cadillac CTS Coupe, Sport Sedan and Sport Wagon Forums; I was wondering, for those who posted all the problems with error codes, vibrations, etc. What mileage is on your ...

Re: Seem to be lots of car problem threads...

There are a lot of problems posted on here because people do not run to the computer (or smart phone) just to tell everyone how freaking awesome it is to drive their CTS every day. Today, was a problem free day, car ran F-ing great, still fast, still more fun than a well-oiled midget. No, people are in a hurry to port when something unexpected happens.

That being said, if you take care of your car, it will take care of you. Take it to a dealer, make sure any and all recall issues have been taken care of. Make sure you check the oil regularly, and add as necessary. These things drink oil. If it gets low on oil, the timing chain stretches. If the timing chain stretches, you will be in a world of $#!+.

Regular vehicle maintenance, sir. That is all it takes to get 200,000 miles on these cars. Its not rocket science, its just common sense. Things that are common problems that I tell people to fix, even if its not broken (yet), are the PCV system, the transmission cooler, and the driveline.

PCV system:
Get a catch can. Any brand, as long as it has internal baffles of some sort.
Drill out your PCV metering tube to 7/64".
Get a breather cap for your engine oil spout.

Transmission cooler:
Disconnect the factory cooler built in to your radiator. The hoses/fitting are pure crap. And usually are the cause of transmission failures.
Buy an external cooler, Hayden makes one with 1/2" inlet/outlet fittings that will match the hoses already coming out of the transmission.

Driveline:
Get the transmission mount reinforcement block, replace your flex discs, and get a polyurethane differential bushing... all at the same time.

I wasnt going to really list too many specific companies, because we have some haters here, but RevShift, Creative Steel, and RX (RevXtreme) make pretty much everything you need except the tranny cooler (I know the Hayden 1240 works, and fits).

I bought my 03 with 60,000 miles and the first 15,000 was hell because original owner neglected maintenance. Since I did all of the maintenance needed and preventative it has been awesome. My car now has 125000 miles and is better now than when I bought it. First rule of thumb when owning a Cadillac is if you can't afford the maintenance, don't buy one because parts are more expensive because it is a luxury car. All the people that complain about the cost of repairs, just remember you picked the car.

Jran you are 100 percent correct. Parts are really expensive. Also of you buy one and can't afford to have it properly serviced then its best to be mechanically inclined so you can do it yourself and save a ton of money. Jesse

Re: Seem to be lots of car problem threads...

My car had around 166k on it. Been dealer maintained its entire life. Only thing I've had to do with the car so far is clean out a clogged a/c drain line and I have a little miss I'm tracking down but that's it. This car is near perfect. Eveveryone that has seen my car has said to get rid of it ASAP because of all the troubles they have. But it just goes to show if you treat it right it will treat you right.

What are the maintenance that you guys are referring to other than changing the oil regularly?

Front end parts, fluid leaks, TIMING BELT(for the 3.2), wheel bearings, etc. Basically anything your car needs when it starts to show wear, before you have a catastrophic failure and complain you have to fix a lot more than just the part that failed because of your neglect. First rule of owning a Cadillac is preventative maintenance.

Re: Seem to be lots of car problem threads...

I bought mine at 65k. It's now at 117k. Haven't had any problems yet. Just normal wear and tear items like filters, fluids, brakes etc. I do need to get the guibo and mounts done soon though. I've just started to get some noises/vibrations and I believe that's the problem. Motor is extremely strong though, idles nice, and still uses a ton of oil after doing the drill/breather/catch can. Oh well. I still love it.

Re: Seem to be lots of car problem threads...

My car is maintained by myself. I do all the fluid checks, replacement etc that need to done. We have had no problems with the car at all..

Now for all the posts that always seem to pop up. People seem to be to god damn lazy to search the facts or other threads in order to find out what the problem is. The car can be taken down to Autozone and the codes can be printed out as well with a description. Stupid stuff like , "my car wont start", i see the 5-8 of these a week. as well as what rims should i get or wheres the factory amp located. Its just stupid shit, buy a fukking manual and look it up. It get old, thats why im not on this site as much anymore. To many of the same threads posting the same things over and over. This site is by far the worst ive ever been on when it comes to people being lazy and not doing the research.

Like wear and tear in fluid pumps? What fluid can I top off myself besides the antifreeze?

You can top off or change all the fluids in your car fairly easily....brake fluid, power steering fluid, antifreeze, windshield wiper fulid, motor oil, trans fluid, dif fluid. None of them are hard to do if you have some tools.

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Originally Posted by SHORTSTACK

Its just stupid shit, buy a fukking manual and look it up. It get old, thats why im not on this site as much anymore. To many of the same threads posting the same things over and over. This site is by far the worst ive ever been on when it comes to people being lazy and not doing the research.

Lol yup. I can say I've been guilty of this before haha but, some questions amaze me ha.....

Re: Seem to be lots of car problem threads...

Originally Posted by Tlorenzen

You can top off or change all the fluids in your car fairly easily....brake fluid, power steering fluid, antifreeze, windshield wiper fulid, motor oil, trans fluid, dif fluid. None of them are hard to do if you have some tools.

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Lol yup. I can say I've been guilty of this before haha but, some questions amaze me ha.....

Hopefully this question isn't a common question... But are all those fluids (besides oil) universal, or are some CTS-specific?

Re: Seem to be lots of car problem threads...

Originally Posted by DavidBoren

Driveline:
Get the transmission mount reinforcement block, replace your flex discs, and get a polyurethane differential bushing... all at the same time.

I haven't seen any threads on this (may have missed them). What is all involved in doing this? I'm making a list of different things I want to save up to do on my car in a few years and this sounds like one that would be good.